Rebecca Thistlethwaite, The New Livestock Farmer: The Business of Raising and Selling Ethical Meat

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The New Livestock Farmer provides pasture-based production essentials for a wide range of animals, from common farm animals (cattle, poultry, pigs, sheep, and goats) to more niche species (bison, rabbits, elk, and deer). Each species chapter discusses the unique requirement of that animal, then delves deeper into the steps it takes to process and get them to market. Profiles of more than 15 meat producers highlight some of the creative ways these innovative farmers are raising animals and direct-marketing superior-quality meat. In addition, it delves into slaughtering, butchering, packaging, labeling, cold storage, market options, pricing, and other business essentials for selling meat. The New Livestock Farmer is a definitive resource for anyone who is serious about raising meat animals ethically, outside of the current consolidated, industrial system.

Rebecca Thistlethwaite is the author of Farms with a Future (Chelsea Green, 2012) and The New Livestock Farmer (Chelsea Green, 2015). As the Program Manager of the eXtension community-of-practice Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN), she develops and delivers technical assistance and educational content for niche meat producers and processors around the country. She also runs Sustain Consulting, which specializes in building thriving farming and food businesses and is a freelance writer, writing for LocalHarvest, On Pasture, and other newsletters. Formerly, Rebecca ran a successful pastured livestock and poultry farm in California, direct marketing meat and eggs around the Bay Area. She currently lives in the Columbia River Gorge with her two children and trail runs whenever she is not volunteering for local schools.